S.J. poverty down slightly but above state average

Wednesday

Aug 29, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Two jobs help Tyiesha Pringle keep baby D'Avion fed, clothed and playing with new toys that rattle and chirp, but they won't move her family out of their north Stockton neighborhood and into a house of their own.

Jennifer Torres

Two jobs help Tyiesha Pringle keep baby D'Avion fed, clothed and playing with new toys that rattle and chirp, but they won't move her family out of their north Stockton neighborhood and into a house of their own.

Schooling has trained Pringle but so far hasn't yielded the job experience she needs to land better-paying work in a professional field.

Still, Pringle said, as her year-old daughter teetered uncertainly on shaky legs, "I'm working to get it together."

Economic stability comes slowly and often unsteadily to families like Pringle's in San Joaquin County, where Census Bureau figures released Tuesday show the proportion of people living in poverty has gotten smaller - but only slightly. Household incomes, though crawling upward, remain below those of the state as a whole.

According to census data, 93,687 county residents - or about 14.2 percent - were poor in 2006. That's down slightly from 14.6 percent the year before. Statewide, 13.1 percent of Californians are living below the poverty level.

The county's median household income for 2006 was $51,951 - well above the national median of $48,200 but still trailing California's overall $56,645.

"Mom's washing dishes at the country club at night, Dad's working at Food 4 Less," said Dee Poirier, a parent educator for the nonprofit Charterhouse Center for Families. "It just isn't enough to take care of a family."

Once a week, Poirier visits Pringle, D'Avion and the toddler's father to teach them about nutrition and child development. Pringle said she sought the help because she wants to be her daughter's first teacher.

D'Avion's dad is working as a security guard while completing automotive training at San Joaquin Delta College. Pringle is studying to become a nurse and has earned certification to work as a medical assistant. For now, though, she is a cashier.

She believes lack of education is what keeps many poor San Joaquin County residents from improving their financial well-being.

"A lot of the neighbors that I talk to they didn't graduate high school," Pringle said. "I always try to recruit people to go to Delta. ... I can't just sit around all day."

Olga Rodriguez oversees one of the six family resource centers that the Community Partnership for Families operates throughout San Joaquin County.

The centers offer education, counseling, food assistance and a range of other services. Poverty is among the combination of factors that bring clients to her West Lane Oaks resource center for help, Rodriguez said. Others, she said, are substance abuse and domestic violence.

"I think it's a variety of factors that are taking place," Rodriguez said. "They come in as a crisis hits them."

Nationally, the country's official poverty rate declined for the first time this decade, down from 12.6 percent in 2005 to 12.3 percent last year. The nation's median household income increased for the second consecutive year.

For families that remain impoverished, San Joaquin County agencies offer a range of services, Rodriguez said. "I think people need to be educated where to go for resources. ... It's really crucial so that you can become self-sufficient and improve your life."

Veronica Guerrero and David Lopez looked to the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless.

The couple and their two children have not lived in a place of their own for the past three years. Last month alone, they moved three times.

Substance abuse, Guerrero said, had been an obstacle to employment, good parenting and stable shelter. "If anything, our kids would have ended up in the system," she said. "Here, I keep my family together. We can get back on our feet."

She and Lopez are completing counseling and training while their children attend school at the Transitional Learning Center on the St. Mary's Interfaith Community Services campus.

At 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, they walked out of the shelter's multipurpose room to pick up Robert, 8, and Davina, 5, from the school gate. "You guys have good days?" Guerrero asked.

Lopez said he believes drugs keep many San Joaquin County families in poverty.

"There's jobs out there," he said. "It's a big battle between labor and addiction. ... We lost a lot of money on bad decisions."

His five-year goal is to earn enough money to buy his family 21/2 acres of land "in the country" where they can raise animals and live quietly.

For Pringle, the goals are homeownership - she wants to stop renting; education - she wants to complete her nursing course and maybe pursue further training; and self-sufficiency - she wants her family to support itself without assistance.

"I'm trying to get off of the welfare," she said. "I'd rather work for it anyway."